Suction cleaner



Sept. 28, 1937.

H H. BOYER SUCTION CLEANER Filed May 16, 1936 2 SheetsSheet 1 ATTO RN EYH. H. BOYER SUCTION CLEANER Filed May 16,

Sept, 28, 1937.

1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTO RN EY Patented Sept. 28, 1937 UNITED STATESSUCTION CLEANER Harold H. Boyer, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The HooverCompany, North Canton, Ohio, a cornotation of Ohio Application May is,1936, Serial No. 80,066

1 Claims. (Cl. 285-71) This invention relates to suction cleaners, andmore particularly to suction cleaners of the type which are portable andare adapted to be moved about, over the floor covering which is to becleaned, by means of a rigid handle, pivoted to the body of the cleanerand extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. One of the importantelements of a suction cleaner is a filtering dust collector, or dustbag, by which the dust entrained in the stream of air which is drawnthrough the nozzle of the suction cleaner can be filtered from the air,such dust collector being usually in the form of a bag of cloth orpaper, or other suitable dust-filtering medium, and usually providedwith a narrowed mouth which is detachably connected to the outlet fromthe body of the cleaner, and usually loosely supported at its upper endfrom the handle of the cleaner. In some suction cleaner constructionsthe bag is located between the dust inlet and the fan, the air beingpassed through the bag before reaching the fan, so as to remove the dusttherefrom. The present invention relates particularly to means fordetachably connecting the dust bag to the discharge outlet, whether theair is blown through such outlet or sucked therethrough.

'One of the objects of the present invention is to provide suitablemeans for detachably connecting a suction cleaner bag which may bereadily operated to attach or detach the bag (and which is particularlyadapted for the attachment of bags of simple structure, which can beeconomically manufactured. A further object of the invention is toprovide attaching means for this purpose which can be economically manufactured, which will be simple of operation, and which will be efiectivein preventing leakage. Further objects of the invention are to provideattaching means of this kind by which the bag will be held positively inits at ached position, which' can be substituted for her attachingmeans; heretofore used on cleaners already manufactured and in use, andattaching means in which the danger of operation in an improper manneris reduced to a minimum.

Still further objects of the invention and features of novelty will beapparent from the following specification, when read with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention areillustrated, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a suction cleanerembodying the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged views in vertical section showing the bag inits position preliminary to attachment, and in its attached position,respectively;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the structure shown inFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in cross section, taken on the line 55 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the structure shown inFig. 2; I

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary view, in perspective, of the mouth ofthe bag shown in the other figures, certain of the parts being brokenaway to disclose the structure more clearly;

Figs. 8 and 9 are enlarged views in vertical section similar to Figs. 2and 3 but showing a modified structure of bag securing fingers.

In the drawingsa suction cleaner body, comprising a wide,forwardly-positioned nozzle II, a fan chamber portion l2, having anoutlet l3 terminating in a flange l4, and a motor casing I5, is mountedon front wheels I6 and rear wheels II, the latter wheels being providedwith adjusting means l8 by which they may be moved relative to thecleaner body in order to lift it and adjust the nozzle II to and fromthe underlying portion of the floor covering which is to be cleaned. -Arotary agitator I9 is preferably provided and rotatably mounted in thenozzle ll, extending transversely therein and driven by a belt, 'orother suitable means, from the shaft of the vertical axis motor, whichit will be understood is mounted in the motor casing portion 15. It willalso be understood that a fan is located in the fan casing portion l2and. driven by the same motor. The bottom of the cleaner body' ispreferably formed with an opening through which access may be had to themotor shaft, pulley and fan, and for removing the belt, such openingbeing normally closed by a removable cover plate 20, normally held inplace by a latch means 2|. A rigid handle, provided with a ball I 22, isprovided for pushing the cleaner about over the fioor covering, the bail22 being pivoted 'to the body of the cleaner at 23 and provided with -asuitable handle-position-controlling means here shown as a sector 24,rigid with the handle bail 22 and cooperating with a latch means on thebody of the cleaner, the arrangement and construction being such as toallow a limited range of free pivotal movement of the handle from oneintermediate position to another but to hold the handle releasably inthe vertical, or storage, position shown in Figure 1, as well as in ahorizontal position. All of the parts so far described are of well knownconstruction and are current of air is blown or sucked, and to which thedust filter is attached.

In the present embodiment a tubular fitting 1 is attached to the outletflange l4, having a-flange 26 corresponding in shape to that of theflange |4 with slotted ears 21 at its sides, so that'it may be sliddownwardly into registry with the flange l4 and secured by nuts 28 orsimilar means. The flange 26 is preferably grooved to receive a gasket29, which is preferably formed of sponge rubber faced with felt. Thefitting 25 has an integral tubular extension 30, of uniform crosssection and preferably oval, which extends upwardly at an anglesubstantially corresponding with that of the position of the handleduring normal use of the cleaner.

As shown in the drawings, a bag 3| is provided which is formed of airporous paper, or'similar material, folded, in pleats and open at itsupper end, the'lower end being formed with a mouth which is relativelysmall by sewing the folds in overlapped relation, which structure isshown in greater detail in -U. S. Patent 1,859,961, Ballou, issued May24, 1932.

The mouth of the bag 3| is reinforced internally, by a short tube 32 ofrelatively stiff material, such as fiber or heavy paper or similarmaterial, such tube being of uniform diameter throughout. A valve 33 mayalso be provided, if desired, in the form of a longer collapsible tubeof relatively flexible paper, cloth, or similar material, such valvetube being located between the bag mouth and the tube 32 and secured inplace by stitching 34 extending through all three of the parts adjacentthe mouth the bag.

In order to secure the bag mouth to the tubular extension 30, a ring 35is slidably mounted on the extension 30, such ring having a portionthereof slotted at 36 to form a plurality of spring fingers 31, one ormore rivets 38 preferably being located.

within one or more of the slots 36 to secure the ring 35 permanently tothe extension and limit the outward movement of the ring.

A gasket a is preferably provided onthe extension 30, against which thebase of the ring 35 seats, in order to prevent leakage; such gasketbeing preferably formed of sponge rubber faced with felt, or othersuitable material. The ring 35 may be of rigid material having a tube ofspring material attached thereto, as shown, or may be formed as anentirety of spring material. In any case, the fingers 31 carried therebyare resilient and are normally bent slightly inward- 1y, as shown inFig. 2, the free ends of such fingers having short outwardly bent hookportions 39 adapted to engage back of the end of the tube 32, when thefingers 31 are forced outwardly, and it will be apparent that suchfingers are forced outwardly as the ring 35 is slid from the positionshown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, being cammed outwardlybyengagement with the end of the tubular extension 30.

The ring 35 is provided with a short radially;

3. i As shown, the latch means comprises a member 4| of sheet metalhaving ears 42 bent over at each side thereof and pivoted at 43 to a lug44 on the tubular fitting 25, and having short ears 45 bent out from thecentral portion thereof to which a retainer 46 formed of sheet metal ispivoted at 41. The retainer 46 is formed with a bent finger 48 at itsend, and a coil spring 49 surrounds the pivot 41 and normally holds theend of the finger, 48 in contact with the lug 44. The lug 44 is providedwith notches 50 and 5| in which the finger 48 is engaged when the latchmember 4| is in ring-securing and ring-releasing positions,respectively, and an arcuate surface 52 is provided between the notches50 and 5| which is curved to approach the pivot point as it nears thenotch 5|, so that the pressure of the coil spring 49 will resist anytendency for the latch to fall back toward latching position after ithas once been moved away from such position, even though the finger 48is not engaged in notch 5|.

The manner of using, the structure will be readily apparent. With thering member 35 in the position shown in Fig. 2, the open mouth of thebag 3| is readily engaged over the hooked ends 39 of the spring fingersand slid down until the lip of the bag mouth engages the abutment on thering 35, as shown. As the length of the,

reinforcing tube 32 corresponds to the distance between such abutmentand the hooked ends 39, such hooked ends will be engaged with the innerend of the tube 32, When the ring 35 and the bag are slid together tothe position shown in Fig. 3, the spring fingers being cammed outwardlyby their engagement with the end of the tubular extension 30 and, whenthe latch 4| has been moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, the end 48of the retainer 46 will be snapped into notch 50, and the bag will besecurely locked in place. To release the bag it is only necessary tosqueeze together the latch member 4| and the latch retainer 46 towithdraw finger'48 from the slot 50, after which the bag 3| may bepulled off, the ring 35 moving with it until spring fingers 31 are freeto spring inwardly to withdraw the hooked ends 39 from their engagementwith the end of the tube 32.

In the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9, spring fingers are shownwhich are compressed against the tube 32, instead of having latchingengagement with an abutment thereon. In this modified embodiment, thering 35 has secured thereto a ring 59 of spring material which isslotted at 53, as in the first embodiment, to form fingers 54 each ofwhich is bent back upon itself and provided with a terminal tongue 55engaged ina notch 56 near the base of the finger. The fingers 54 arethus wedge-shaped, thickening toward a loop at the inner end of eachfinger, and a filler ring 51 is preferably'provided inside of the ring59 reaching substantially to the tongues 55. The upper end of thetubular extension 30a is beveled on its outer surface, as shown at 58,to provide for gradual compressiomof the spring fingers as the ring 35is slid from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9. Itwill be apparent that, in general, the operation of this embodiment willbe the same as that of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 7, except thatthe bag will be frictionally held by the expansion of thespring fingersoutwardly against the reinforcing tube 32, rather than being positivelylatched in placeby the hooked ends on the spring fingers engaging anabutment on the reinforcing tube. While two embodiments of the inventionhave been shown and described, it will be understood that variouschanges may be made in the details of construction and arrangement ofparts without departing from the spirit of the invention, which isdefined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension, a sleeve mounted to slidelengthwise on said extension and having a radially expansible portion,and a dust bag having a neck portion adapted to be fitted over saidsleeve in its extended position and then to be shifted bodily t ierewithonto said tubular extension whereby' aid expansible portion of saidsleeve is expanded to engage said neck portion interiorly to hold saidbag on said sleeve.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension, a sleeve mounted to slidelengthwise on said extension and having a radially expansible portionadjacent its outer end and adapted to assume a contracted position whenextended beyond the end of said tubular extension, and a dust bag havinga neck portion adapted to be fitted over said slidable sleeve in itsextended position and then to be shifted bodily therewith onto saidtubular extension whereby the normally contracted portion of said sleeveis expanded, and means mounted interiorly of the neck portion of saidbag and adapted to'be engaged by the expanded portion of said sleeve tohold said bag thereon.

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension, a sleeve mounted to slidelengthwise on said tubular extension and having a radiallyexpansibleouter end portion adapted to assume a contracted position when the sameis extended beyond the end of said tubular extension, and a dust baghaving a neck portion adapted to be fitted snugly onto said sleeve inits extended position and to slide therewith onto said tubular extensionand to be securely fastened thereto by the expansion of the outer endportion of said sleeve.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension, a sleeve mounted to slidelengthwise on said tubular extension and having a radially expansibleand contractible outer end portion adapted to assume a contractedposition when extended beyond the outer end of said tubular extension, adust bag having a neck portion adapted to be fitted onto said sleeve inits extended position and to be shifted bodily therewith onto saidtubular extension, and a collar surrounding the inner surface of saidneck portion having its innermost edge positioned to provide a shoulderto be engaged by the expansible end portion of said sleeve.

5. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension, a sleeve mounted to slidelengthwise on said tubular extension and having at its outer end aplurality of radially expansible fingers normally assuming a contractedposition when extended beyond the end of said tubular extension, and adust bag having a neck portion adapted to fit snugly over said sleeveand to slide bodily therewith onto said tubular extension whereupon saidfingers are expanded radially to engage said neck portion and hold saidbag against displacement on said sleeve, and means for locking saidsleeve against sliding movement on said tubular extension.

6. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension with a shoulder at its lowerend, a sleeve slidably mounted on said tubular extension and having aplurality of spring fingers forming its outer end portion, said springfingers being radially contractible and expansible in the slidingmovement of said sleeve on said tubular extension, a dust bag having areinforced neck portion adapted to fit snugly onto said sleeve in itsextended position then to slide bodily therewith onto said tubularextension flush with said shoulder thereof, whereupon said springfingers are expanded radially to engage said neck portion to hold saidbag on said sleeve, and latching means for holding said sleeve againstsliding movement on said tubular extension.

7. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a body having a dischargeoutlet terminating in a tubular extension having a shoulder at its base,a sleeve mounted to slide lengthwise on said tubular extension andhaving its outer end portion slotted lengthwise to form a plurality ofresilient fingers having their ends bent radially outward, said fingersbeing normally contracted when extended beyond the end of said tubularextension and adapted to be expanded radially in contact with saidtubular extension, a dust bag having a neck portion adapted to fit saidsleeve and have an internal reinforcing collar providing a shoulder atits innermost end, said neck portion being adapted to be inserted ontosaid sleeve in its extended position thence to slide therewith onto saidtubular extension into flush contact with the shoulder at the basethereof, and a latching member mounted on said tubular extensionadjacent said shoulder and adapted to have latching engagement with saidsleeve when in fiush contact with said shoulder.

HAROLD H. BOYER.

